Electrically internally heated steering wheel



Dec. 15, 1953 B. M. SARGENT ELECTRICALLY INTERNALLY HEATED STEERING WHEEL Filed Aug. 8, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BETTY. M.S ARGENT, Mo full f-fim FIG. 2

ATTORNEYS Dec. 15, 1953 B. M. SARGENT v 2,662,961

ELECTRICALLY INTERNALLY HEATED STEERING WHEEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 8, 1952 2o- 2/ Y l7 INVENTOR FIG. 4

* BETTY M. SARGENT,

ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 15, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT 0 F F I CE ELECTRICALLY INTERNALLY HEATED STEERING WHEEL The invention relates to a thermally regulated internally heated steering or control wheel which is uniformly heated through a non-metallic wheel and crosspieoe cove ing of the wheel by means of electrically heated and insulated cable in contact with the wheel rim and the crosspiece reiniorcing member, which cables are connected to a suitable electrical energy source, switch and thermostat to control the warming of the wheel.

The electrical heating device for the steering wheel is well adapted for installation in all types of automotive vehicles, such as pleasure cars, trucks, buses and the like, for motorboats, ships and other vessels in which the steering or wheel mechanism is partially or completely exposed to the elements and for aircraft in which the Wheel may be used for controlling the speed or the direction of the craft.

The electrically heated insulated cable which contacts the entire surface of the wheel rim is covered with a non-metallic cast or molded cov ering, such as rubber, synthetic rubber or plastic, which has the same appearance, size and fin ish as the conventional unheated molded or cast wheel which is found in the current models of automobiles.

The manufacture of the internally heated thermally regulated control wheel of the invention is easily accomplished and quite inexpensive. The electrically heated cable provided along the surface of the entire wheel rim, or along the wheel rim and crosspiece, is readily and cheaply cast or melded and/or embedded into a rubber or plastic covering without introducing any other change in the usual method of applying the steering wheel covering to the metal wheel rim.

The thermostat and switch for the covered heating cable construction of the invention are readily accessible to the operator of the vehicle, plane or boat. The temperature is controlled by the operator, as desired, by manual adjustment or" the t nostat, or the switch, or both. Rapid and unnorin warming of the wheel is easily reallzed in view or" the thermostat, switch and cable arrangement oi the invention.

The energy requirement for heating the wheel is small, and readily available from a battery and/or from an electrical generating s;. stcin which is commonly available automotive vehicles, boats and planes.

An object of the invention is to provide a uniformly heated control or steering wheel which is electrically heated along its entire surface by heating cables embedded below a non-metallic, plastic, rubber or resin covering for the wheel which covering has the same appearance, size and. finish as that of unheated cast or molded steering wheels A further object of the invention is to provide an electrical heating cable construction embedded a non-metallic, plastic or rubber covering and operatively connected to an electrical energy 2 source, a switch and a. thermostat to uniformly and quickly heat from the interior of the wheel, the. wheel covering to ease the handling of the wheel by the operator in cold weather.

A further object of the invention is to provide an easily fabricated and inexpensive internally heated wheel construction provided with heating cables, a switch and thermostat in which at least one of the cables is electrically heated from an electrical energy source through a switch and another of the cables is electrically heated from the source through the switch and the thermostat.

- till further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that the more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitations, since various changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Illustrative embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows the construction of the heating cabl arrangement of the invention in combination with a standard steering wheel of recent production, the steering wheel in the 1955 Ford. The horn cap and ring of the standard steering wheel are not shown in Figure 1.

Figure 2 shows the circ it diagram, to heat the cable arrangement illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 illustrates a modification wherein the heating cable is spirally Wound around the steel reinforcing ring of the steering wheel to provide uniform heating of the entire rim and of the spokes of the wheel.

Figure 4 shows the circuit diagram of the construction shown in Figure 3.

In Figure 1 the internally heated control wheel is illustrated to show four cables. 5, E, 3 and. 4 which are electrically connected in par-- allel and mounted in pairs respectivel upper and lower halves of tie wheel pair of cables is moun ed on site sides of the reinforcing steel ring wheel 5 to thereby better distribute t eat developed in the heating cables, cireutciierein tially around the steel reinforcing ring and. to counteract the low conductivity of rubber or plastic covering 5 which covers the w eel 1'. Electrical heating cables l and provide T for the top half of the wheel. Electrical ate ing cables 2 and 4 provide heat for the half of the wheel. The ends of the ele; heating cables I and 4 provide heat for hand spoke of the wheel and are shown in F ure 1 as being disposed longitudina ,long wheel reinforcing spokes l at the right-hand of the Wheel. The ends of cables 2 and 3 vide heat for the left-hand. spole s are shown longitudinally disposed along the of the hand spoke 8 at the left side of the wheel in Figure 1.

The ends of cables 2 and 3 are electrically grounded to the steel reinforcing ring 5 at the,

ring ground connection ii while the ends of cables 1 and ii are grounded to the wheel hub 53 at grounding connection l0.

To permit the cables l, 2, 3 and 4 to be of equal length copper leads i2 and 12 are connected to the ungrounded ends of cables I and t. These copper leads I? and I2 lead to a thermostat i3 and control switch Hi respectively which are mounted on the wheel spoke. A copper lead it connected to the switch id serves to connect the entire wheel heating system through the wheel hub fl and the hollow steering column 55 to the off side of the car heater or ignition switch and thence to the ungrounded terminal of the car battery it. The hollow steering column is contained in the steering post it, as is conventional. The top of the hollow column it is provided with a column nut it through which the copper lead is inserted.

In to reduce the load on the thermostat 53, only cables i and 2 are controlled by the thermostat. This provides ample heating control to suit the normal requirements in tempera ture variation in the interior of the vehicle, aircraft or the like and to adjust for personal differences and preferences as may be desired by various operators. It is to be understood, however, that each of the heating or all of the heating cables can be just as well controlled by the thermostat if desired.

It has been found desirable to provide a mum heating of approximately 72 watts for an entire wheel, and when divided among four cables, as shown in l 3., requires 18 watts per cable, and a length approximately 3' satisfactory cable for this requirement when connected to a 6 volt electrical source consists of a .031 diameter Nichroine {86% Ni Cr) wire insulated with asbestos glass fibre and covered with a metallic braid such as lt'ionel. Such a ca..l.e has an overall diameter of about 732" and an elect-r resistance of appro Jeif 0.65 feet. It can be satisfactorily cast or molded into a hard or plastic s eering wheel without the external appearance in any way.

Figure 2 illus construction in l. i source ii is connected 1 ignition, heater or other switch it to the control ch it to heat cables 5 2 which are disposed in parallel through ta 3 and which are disposes. in parallel.

Figure shows a modi wherein two electrical cables 2? 2i rally wound around the upper 10.. as r spectively of the steering ring with the right spol es s heated by the end of cable and the leftspolces 8 heated by the spirally wrapped end of cable 2 1. Each cable, is grounded at the diametrically oppoeite points on. wheel ring 5 at the ring grounding connections 22 and respectively. The ungrounded end of cable 28 is connected to thermostat it by means of copper lead 2t.

It has been found that with the 1950 Ford wheel, approximately six feet of heating cable is required to properly heat each half of the Wheel. A satisfactory cable can be provided by using a 0.61" diameter Nichrome wire insulated and covered as indicated for the cables In a 1 1 :cstat is to heat caoles shown in Fig. 1 which for the six-foot length provides a heating capacity of 36 watts when connected to a 6 volt electrical source.

Figure 4 shows the electrical energy source connected through the ignition, heater or to the switch l9, then to the control switch it and thermostat 13 to control the heating of heating cables 20 and 2! which are disposed in parallel.

While the illustrations show both a controllable thermostat and a switch located on the steering wheel, it is understood that it is within the scope of the invention to locate the switch elsewhere, as for instance on the dash, and to use a simple constant temperature thermostat or eliminate this feature in favor of an averag value of heating for all conditions. It has been determined that a range 0 36 to 72 watts is sufiicient to cover the normal range of heating requirements but the invention is not limited specifically to these values. The cable construction herein described has been found well suited for molding or casting into materials such as those used in the construction of steering wheels, however other types of resistance wire having high t perature insulation might be made to serve purpose within the scope of the invention,

Having thus disclosed the invention, what is claimed is:

1. An internally heated, thermally regulated steering wheel comprising a metal reinforced wheel, two pairs of insulated electrical heating cables of approximately equal length, one cable of each pair being mounted on diametrically opposite sides of said wheel along the entire periphery of the wheel, said heating cables comprising resistance Wire insulated with siliceous insulation and covered with metallic braid, a source of electrical energy to heat said two pairs of cables, a switch to out said electrical energy source on and oil, a thermostat connected to one pair of heating cables provided with manual regulating means to control the heating in said pair of heating cables, the heating in said other pair of cables controlled by said switch, and a plastic covering encasing said heating cables and said wheel adapted to uniformly warm the wheel.

2. An internally heated, thermally regulated steering wheel comprising a metal reinforced wheel, two pairs of insulated electrical heating cables of approximately equal length, one cable of each pair being mounted on diametrically opposite sides of said wheel along the entire periphery of the wheel, said heating cables com prising Nichrorne insulated with and glass fiber and covered with metallic braid, a source of electrical energy to heat said two pairs of cables, a switch to out said electrical energy source on and 01f, a thermostat connected to one pair of heating cables provided with manual regulatin means to control the heating in said pair of heating cables, the heating in said other pair of cables controlled by said switch, and a plastic covering encasing said heating cables and said wheel adapted to uniformly warm the wheel.

BETTY MARTIN SARGENT.

References Gited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,062,745 smith May 27, 1913 1,724,001 Blackburn Aug. 13, 1929 2,018,947 Claridge Oct. 29, 1335 2,392,539 Leible Jan. 8, 1946 2,419,655 Reiser 29, 1947 

